Finally Yours (Love & Wine Book 1)

by Claire Raye

  I wait a second for my eyes to adjust and then before I can question what the fuck I’m doing, I walk through the mudroom to her kitchen, where I leave the packet of biscuits on the island and quickly walk back out.

  The next morning, I wake early, my jetlagged body still struggling to adjust to the million time zones I’ve crossed to be here. Despite the wine and my exhaustion, it had taken me a long time to fall asleep last night, my mind whirling with confused thoughts over that moment on the back deck just before Lu left.

  I still wasn’t entirely sure what had come over me, nor was I sure what I was supposed to do about it either.

  Shaking my head, I drag myself from bed and into a cold shower, before quickly dressing and walking out on to the back deck with a cup of coffee.

  I watch the sun as it rises over the fields of grape vines, casting a warm glow over rows and rows of green. Next door, Lu’s house is silent and I can only assume she’s still asleep. Hasn’t discovered what I snuck inside and left for her.

  Glancing down at her backyard, I notice a compost bin overflowing, the lid barely containing all of the waste jammed inside it. Finishing my coffee, I leave the mug on the back table before wandering over to take care of it.

  After I’m done, I head down to the sheds containing the broken crusher, knowing I’m early and the others aren’t likely to be there yet.

  Grabbing one of the empty plastic bins by the back room, I head over to the stairs and climb up to the machine. Peering inside I almost cringe at all the grapes she’s going to lose.

  “What a fucking waste,” I mutter as I reach in and grab the bunches that just might be able to be salvaged. As I gently place them in the plastic bin, an idea starts to form in my mind. Working quickly, I clear out all the intact bunches I can, managing to fill four containers, which I then take to the back room and shove beneath one of the counters for later.

  Just as I walk back into the shed, in walks Lulu, Oscar in tow.

  “Morning, Lulu,” I say, grinning at her. “Oscar,” I say, holding out my hand to him as he proceeds to go through the handshake he’s apparently decided we need to use for each greeting and farewell.

  She watches us, rolling her eyes in obvious annoyance.

  “Get out on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” I ask, glancing at her.

  She exhales loudly. “No,” she shoots back.

  I chuckle. “You sure? You seem a little, I don’t know,” I pause, hand under my chin as I run my eyes up and down her body. “On edge or something?” I add.

  Lulu stands with her hands on her hips, her eyes on fire as she once again shoots daggers at me. “I’m perfectly fine,” she says through gritted teeth.

  Laughing, I walk toward her, stopping when we are side by side. Leaning over so my mouth is against her ear, I whisper. “You know, I have the perfect solution for taking that edge off.”

  I feel her stiffen beside me and I can’t resist laughing a little. “Just sayin’, Lu, that offer I made, it still stands.”

  She whips around so she’s facing me now, her cheeks red and her mouth open as though she’s about to rip me a new one. It takes every ounce of self-control I have not to burst out laughing at how fucking adorable she looks right now.

  “Honestly, Jack,” she says, jaw tight. “I have no…”

  “Aunt Lulu,” Oscar says, interrupting her. “Everyone’s here.”

  I bite my bottom lip to stop the laugh from escaping, and when we both turn I see there are now half a dozen guys standing inside the shed, staring at us. One of them looks extremely pissed off, his eyes flicking between Lu and me as we stand face to face.

  Almost immediately I want to tell him to back the fuck off, to rein it in and take his eyes off his boss. But I don’t say anything. As much as I might like to tease Lu, give her shit because I love driving her crazy, there’s no way I’m going to embarrass or belittle her in front of her employees.

  The stuff I do and say to her is private.

  “Well, we can talk about it later,” I say, my words loud enough for everyone to hear. Giving her a small grin, I gesture to the waiting workers and say, “You want to introduce me?”

  Chapter Six

  Lauren

  He’s always right there on the edge of me forgiving him for being a shithead, but he always manages to bring me right back to hating him.

  This morning I woke up to a pack of Tim Tams sitting on the island in my kitchen, while creepy as it was, something about it was also really sweet.

  The creepy Tim Tams are now looking creepier than ever and if he was hoping to leave them as a peace offering, he’s going to have to do better.

  Like hell if I’m letting him undermine me in front of my staff; a staff that respects me and knows I run this place like a well-oiled machine.

  They’re all standing there waiting for me to say something, because it has been years since I’ve brought someone new in and it’s very clear that Jack is here for a while.

  He’s elbow deep in grapes, and by the way he’s standing he’s about to start ordering people around.

  “Good morning,” I greet, turning around and smiling at my crew. “This is Jack Wilson. Some of you may even remember him or his dad from when they were here many years ago.”

  Jack approaches and reaches out, shaking hands with each one of the guys and greeting them with his usual flourish of, “Nice meet you, mate” and all the other accented over the top lingo he likes to drop.

  Kangaroos, wombats, square poop, didgeridoo bullshit.

  Feeling far too full of himself as he unloads his credentials and name-drops his dad to the guys, so I knock him down a few notches.

  “Jack is here to fix the crusher. He is by no means in charge, so if you need anything or have any questions, as always, everything is directed to me.”

  I give Jack a side eye and he’s smirking like he always does, totally unfazed by my comments.

  Even worse, Oscar is looking up at him like he’s an absolute genius and I take Oscar by the hand, tugging him close to me. I shake my head and widen my eyes at him, but he just sticks out his tongue in response.

  “Listen,” I whisper, bending down so I’m on his level. “You’re siding with the wrong person here. Remember who has a tub of Twizzlers in her pantry.”

  Oscar laughs, throwing his arms around my waist before he runs out of the shed, disappearing into the vineyard.

  It’s Tommy who pipes up first stating, “We’ve had tons of people here to fix that damn crusher. What makes you think this guy’s suddenly going to be able to?” He tosses his thumb in Jack’s direction and shoots him a look that lets me know he’s on my side.

  Finally!

  I give the guys the lowdown on why I believe Jack can fix it and on what needs to be done, letting each of them know their place and what I expect from them. We’ve never had to take on something of this magnitude and the last thing we need are too many chefs in the kitchen.

  I put Tommy in charge because I have a shipment coming in and I need to be up front to collect that. I called Penny in early so she could help me check it in and get the shelves of the gift shop restocked. With the nice weather comes tourists, and we need to be prepared.

  I’m about to walk out when I remember my composter.

  “Hey Tommy,” I call and he trots over to where I’m standing.

  “Yeah?”

  “When you get a chance could you empty my composter? Dump it in the usual spots.”

  “Yeah, no problem,” he says, his hand resting on my shoulder.

  “Already done!” Jack shouts from the platform above the crusher. He lifts his chin toward us like the pompous ass that he is.

  “What?” I practically shout back and suddenly Jack is standing next to me, his hand on my other shoulder mimicking Tommy’s stance.

  “Yep, emptied it this morning. I noticed it after I left your place,” he replies winking at me, and I swear if I were a cartoon character steam would shooting from my ears.


  “You’re deluded, because being invited to my house and sneaking into it are two different things.”

  “Where’d you dump it?” Tommy asks, his tone clipped.

  “Right where it’s supposed to be,” Jack bites back, his arms now folded across his chest. “Some things never change, right Lu?”

  “You can say that again,” I mutter as I walk away, letting Jack and Tommy duke it out.

  Several hours later and the shelves are restocked, the summer wine list has been updated and the tasting room is packed with people.

  It’s nearing lunchtime and my stomach growls reminding me to eat. I’ve been up since six and totally forgot to eat breakfast. I had downed a couple of Tim Tams from the creeper pack Jack left, but it isn’t doing me much good right now.

  I hear Penny laugh and I smile. She’s young, cute and chatty with an infectious laugh. It’s why I hired her to run my tasting room. People love her. They get drunk and buy things from her. It’s a win for everyone.

  I look out the window of my office onto the patio and every table is full. People are drinking and eating, and it’s these kinds of days that make me grateful that I had the opportunity to take over this place when my parents retired.

  I hear Penny laugh again, knowing she’s killing it out there, but it’s when I hear her say Jack’s name that I bolt out of my chair and hightail it down the hall and into the tasting room.

  Stopping in the doorway, I find him behind the counter with Penny, encroaching on her personal space and yucking it up with the customers.

  I’m not paying him to flirt with my employees and bother my customers.

  I watch Jack open a bottle of wine, giving Penny explicit instructions on how to pour it and telling her she’s keeping the temperature of the chiller slightly too high. His arrogance makes me irate, but I let it play out just a little bit longer.

  Again I watch as Jack attempts to wow the customers with his knowledge and for some reason, they are swooning over his every word, as is Penny. Jack’s hand slides down Penny’s back and before he can reach her ass, I clear my throat alerting them that I’m standing in the doorway.

  “Jack,” I say, but it comes out harsh and like a warning. Penny instantly shies away from him and returns to being the professional I hired.

  I don’t blame her for being attracted to him. He can be incredibly charming and listening to him with the customers kind of makes me swoon a little too.

  As a kid he was nerdy and skinny, but that charm factor was always there. He just grew into it, and now the inside fits the outside.

  I walk back down the hall that leads to my office with Jack following closely behind.

  “Jack, I hired you to fix my crusher not flirt with my employees,” I say giving him a stern look, but when I catch his eyes, he’s grinning at me.

  “Come on, Lulu. Don’t be jealous. You know you’re the only one I want to flirt with.”

  I roll my eyes and walk toward the door giving him a shove and telling him to get back to work.

  “That’s why I’m here,” he says, halting my shoving by planting his feet and slipping his hand to my hip.

  When his fingers slide along my shirt, lifting it slightly, I feel the warmth of skin brush against mine. It’s like someone has set my skin on fire and the room grows suddenly hot.

  I try to control my strange urge to press my body against him, but the gasp that leaves my lips slips out, letting him know he’s getting to me.

  “Have dinner with me tonight,” Jack murmurs, his hand now resting on my lower back. The pressure of his hand forcing me to step closer and now the space between us is barely existent.

  Goosebumps rise up on my skin despite the scorching temperature in the room and I swallow hard, trying to force back my obvious attraction to him.

  I chalk it all up to loneliness. I haven’t been this close to a man in months, and at this point I’m certain anyone could elicit this response from my body.

  When I finally regain my ability to speak all I can get out is a breathy, “What?”

  “Have dinner with me,” he repeats and I shake my head, but my damn body betrays me and I brush against him as I try to move away. I need to put some distance between us.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” he says, reaching for my hand as I make my way to the door. His fingers glide along the inside of my wrist and brush the center of my palm, lingering for a second on my fingertips.

  I don’t argue with him because the most important thing I need to do right now is get away from him before I do something stupid.

  I leave out the side door and nearly run into Ellen as I do. Jack is hot on my heels and when she takes in the look on both our faces she laughs out loud.

  “Jack was just filling me in on how things are going with the crusher,” I tell her, but my voice is high and I sound like I’ve been running.

  “Oh really?” Ellen questions, her eyebrows going up in surprise at what seems like an obvious lie.

  “It looks like I have to order some parts. Could be a few weeks before they arrive. The machine’s gonna be down for a bit though.”

  Without waiting for Ellen or me to respond Jack walks off and I curse under my breath because I didn’t have a chance to clarify that I absolutely am not having dinner with him. Probably all part of his plan.

  “So, did you finally get your rebound bang in with Jack?” Ellen asks, laughing, and I storm away from her. I can’t even deal with her constant teasing and Jack’s ability to make me weak in the knees.

  Ellen’s teasing doesn’t end there, but I continue to avoid her until our day ends. It turns out it’s hard work avoiding two people despite the size of the vineyard, and by the time I grab a beer from my fridge and park my ass on the couch, I’m exhausted.

  A knock comes on my door only a few minutes after I begin to relax and I let out an annoyed huff as I peel myself off the couch.

  I open the door to find Jack standing there with a bag and a bottle of wine. I look down at the bag and see takeaway containers from the small restaurant we have on the property.

  “Tell me you didn’t con my restaurant staff into making you dinner.”

  “Never,” he says, feigning like he’s appalled that I questioned his integrity. “I bought this.” He raises the bag up as if me seeing it closer will make me believe he didn’t just charm them into giving him free food. “Hopefully you still love sauerkraut like you did as a kid.”

  “From what I remember you loved it too.”

  “Oh I still do, but you can’t get a Reuben in Oz like you can here in the States.”

  He knows my weakness and I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s kinda sweet that after all these years he remembers these things about me. It’s not like I blocked everything about him from my memory either.

  “I’m pretty sure I never agreed to dinner with you and showing up here with a Reuben is a low blow.” But even as I say it the smile on my face tells him he won. I can’t send him away now.

  “I hoped it would work,” Jack says, shifting his weight back and forth and I realize I’ve rudely left him holding everything and waiting for me to invite him in.

  I take the bottle of wine from him and step aside. Jack walks in and heads right for my kitchen, setting the bag down, he begins unpacking.

  He’s brought two sandwiches, chips, fruit, and to make things even better, a pack of Tim Tams for dessert. He sure knows how to win me over.

  “What were you planning to do with all this food if I sent you away?” I ask, as we both sit down and start eating.

  “I guess I would’ve just eaten both.” He shrugs his shoulders, taking a big bite of his sandwich. His eyes roll back and he lets out an incredibly sexy low groan. “Might still,” he adds and I laugh as he tries to covertly slide his hand over to my plate.

  My memory catches and I think back to all the times we’d meet up in the kitchen after it closed, when both of us knew we shouldn’t be there, and we’d make our own
Reuben. Mine piled high with a ridiculous amount of sauerkraut and Jack’s with like thirty pickles on the side.

  My dad caught us once and Jack took the blame. Claiming he didn’t know we weren’t supposed to be in the kitchen and that he convinced me it was okay. It was complete bullshit but because my parents thought Jack walked on water, they let it slide. After that we were better at sneaking in there.

  “You get extra pickles?” I ask, and Jack reaches into the bag, pulling out a to-go container filled with them.

  I laugh out loud as we relive our childhood in my kitchen.

  Chapter Seven

  Jack

  It’s nice being here with Lu like this, laughing as we remember all the shit we used to get up to as kids. Not having her be pissed off at me like she was earlier today is a bonus too.

  I knew she’d been shitty when she caught me mucking around with Penny earlier, which is kind of what I’d been aiming for. After watching that Tommy guy strut about marking his territory, I figured I’d see what happened when I turned the tables a little.

  It had been good to know I could get her so worked up, even if it had all been harmless. As nice as Penny was, she wasn’t my type. Or the subject of all my fantasies.

  But sitting here with Lu now, it’s nice not having to worry about anyone else getting in the way or interrupting us, as we laugh about our frequent break-ins to the kitchen and tasting room back when we were teenagers.

  “So, you really want to stick with the story that I was a total pain in the arse to have around back then?” I ask, smiling at her.

  Lu takes another bite of her sandwich, her tongue slipping out to lick the corner of her mouth in a way that is far too sexy to be associated with eating food. “Well,” she starts, swallowing. “You weren’t all bad,” she says, rolling her eyes when I grin and nod in agreement with her. “But you were a huge pain in my ass most of the time.”